by LCJ
[Pulled from UP employee website, industry news.]
House Bill Proposes to Revamp Rail Safety, Rename FRA
Legislation that would bring sweeping reforms to railroad safety regulations and usher in a new name for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) entered the U.S. House May 1, reports Progressive Railroading.
Introduced by Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007 (H.R. 2095) proposes to re-designate the FRA as the Federal Railroad Safety Administration (FRSA), which would be charged with reducing rail accidents, injuries and fatalities as its highest priority, and be required to double the number of safety inspectors from 400 to 800 by Dec. 31, 2011. The FRSA administrator would be required to have professional experience in railroad, hazardous materials or other transportation safety.
In addition, the bill would eliminate operating crews' "limbo" time [emphasis added], call for the creation of fatigue management programs, strengthen whistleblower protections, foster the implementation of positive train control, improve dark territory safety, establish training standards for all rail workers, require conductor certification [emphasis added], prompt a locomotive cab ergonomics study and mandate emergency breathing apparatus in all locomotive cabs.
The bill has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, which will conduct a hearing May 8.
House Bill Proposes to Revamp Rail Safety, Rename FRA
Legislation that would bring sweeping reforms to railroad safety regulations and usher in a new name for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) entered the U.S. House May 1, reports Progressive Railroading.
Introduced by Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007 (H.R. 2095) proposes to re-designate the FRA as the Federal Railroad Safety Administration (FRSA), which would be charged with reducing rail accidents, injuries and fatalities as its highest priority, and be required to double the number of safety inspectors from 400 to 800 by Dec. 31, 2011. The FRSA administrator would be required to have professional experience in railroad, hazardous materials or other transportation safety.
In addition, the bill would eliminate operating crews' "limbo" time [emphasis added], call for the creation of fatigue management programs, strengthen whistleblower protections, foster the implementation of positive train control, improve dark territory safety, establish training standards for all rail workers, require conductor certification [emphasis added], prompt a locomotive cab ergonomics study and mandate emergency breathing apparatus in all locomotive cabs.
The bill has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, which will conduct a hearing May 8.
